Rise of the bacteria: deadly fungus attacks hospitals in the US and the world

In the United States, the virulent drug-resistant microbe Candida auris has changed. It is related to the CDC report that far more people die from these types of infections than previously thought.

Фото: Depositphotos

Doctors have provided data that shows that around 35 000 people die from drug-resistant infections in the United States every year.

New York was the first state to publish a list of facilities where patients became infected with a drug-resistant fungus. The statistics are shocking: Candida auris was found in 64 hospitals, 103 nursing homes, a long-term care hospital and three hospice departments.

The numbers show how drug-resistant infections are widespread, and recent forecasts of mortality in America are double the previous estimates.

“Great progress has been made, but the bottom line is that antimicrobial resistance is worse than we previously thought. Every 11 seconds, someone in the United States becomes infected with a persistent infection, and someone dies every 15 minutes, ”said Michael Craig, senior antibiotic resistance adviser at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which published updated mortality information.

Candida auris is one of the newest and most mysterious examples of such infections.

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Some hospitals, including large academic institutions, refused to discuss cases of infection with reporters, even when family members of the patient or doctors confirmed them.

A new CDC report, which details the country's struggle against antimicrobial resistance, states that in the United States 2,8 million people are infected with resistant microorganisms each year. This is 800 000 people per year more than in the previous report published in 2013 year. Officials said that the updated data reflects the advances in data collection made possible by electronic medical records.

The results are not entirely gloomy. The agency has documented a 30 percent decrease in mortality among patients who become drug-resistant infections in hospitals, due to improved hygiene among nurses and doctors.

Among the most serious threats are a form of drug-resistant gonorrhea spreading among young people and gay men, and urinary tract infections that are difficult to treat.

The CDC, on the other hand, reported a significant decrease in the incidence of MRSA, a bacterial infection, sometimes called “superbug,” and infections such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which often affects nursing home residents and patients after surgery.

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The microbe, which is usually resistant to one or more basic antifungal drugs, is dangerous for people with a weakened immune system. It easily extends to equipment, clothing, and leather.

About half of patients infected with C. auris die within 90 days, although they are usually ill with something else. Therefore, it is unclear whether they die from a fungus or is it just a deadly combination of bad health factors.

Presenting data on hospitals and nursing homes, New York State officials begged patients not to avoid visiting these facilities just because they were treating patients with C. auris. In fact, the listed hospitals and nursing homes may very well cope with the fungus, said Dr. Howard Zucker, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health.

However, he added that the microbe is spreading so quickly that hospitals and nursing homes are required to recognize its presence and eliminate it like other large drug-resistant infections that are tracked and made public in the United States.

The United Nations estimates that if nothing changes, then 2050 million people will die from drug-resistant infections in 10, more than cancer.

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